Many companies contacted AIPA, especially since May, when economic activity returned to normality after two years marked by the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to find out how they can hire foreign workers, given the lack of labor in the Azores.

These companies are mainly in the fields of construction, catering and hospitality, and care for the elderly, areas in which it is difficult to recruit workers in the Azores. Therefore, companies seek to use immigrant labor, especially from Portuguese-speaking countries, with Brazil in the spotlight, since Brazilian citizens do not need a visa to enter Portugal, which greatly facilitates their coming to the country in search of work.

As explained by the vice-president of AIPA and coordinator of the Local Migrant Integration Support Centers (CLAIM) of Ponta Delgada and Angra do Heroísmo, Leoter Viegas, "effectively, in the last four, five months, we have been approached several times by companies that contact us to inquire about the availability of labor".

According to Leoter Viegas, this situation arises from "the lack of workforce in the Azores, with companies finding themselves in the need to hire foreign citizens, asking us if this possibility exists and what our role could be in helping them".

And a piece of advice from AIPA to companies: "always create legal channels for the hiring of foreign citizens by complying with labor legislation" and legislation on the permanence of foreigners in Portugal.

The legislation that allows foreigners to come to Portugal looking for work will change very soon (see box), but currently, as explained by Leoter Viegas, “the immigrant must have a contract or a promise of employment contract, in a written document, as well as a taxpayer number and a Social Security number, so that their employment relationship with companies can be legal”.

This is to avoid situations in which the immigrant is integrated into a company without a written contract or a Social Security number, "leaving the immigrant in a difficult situation" to revalidate their stay in the country, concludes Leoter Viegas.